Empire of Sin (55 page)

43
All of this had begun to change in the late 1870s …
 Post-Reconstruction changes as per Somers, “Black and White,” 27, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” 382–85.

44
Fearing a return of federal military intervention …
 See Somers, “Black and White,” 36.

45
“White and colored people mingled freely …”
Warner is cited in Somers, “Black and White,” 33.

46
time to reassert old racial hierarchies …
 Somers, “Black and White,” 36–39, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” 383, describe the changes starting around 1890.

47
a young man named Homer Plessy …
 Numerous books have been written about
Plessy v. Ferguson
and its implications. From a narrative perspective (details about Plessy’s life, etc.), I found Medley’s
We as Freemen
most useful.

48
new laws were passed to suppress the status …
 For the tightening of racial restrictions in the mid-1890s, see Somers, “Black and White,” 37–40, and Reed, “Race Legislation,” passim.

49
the music challenged the spirit of Jim Crow …
 Hersch,
Subversive Sounds
(especially 56–58), is best on jazz as a perceived challenge to Jim Crow.

50
close the notorious “Negro dives” …
 For the effort to close the Franklin Street dives for health reasons, see Long,
Babylon
, 102.

51
kept within boundaries …
 Landau, “Spectacular Wickedness,” 68, is best on the perceived importance of clear racial boundaries to the attraction of Northern capital investment.

52
“I’m telling you, that was it …”
The “Home, Sweet Home” story, with quote, is from Frederick Ramsey’s interview with Raymond Lopez of August 30, 1958 (Ramsey Papers, Folder 430).

53
another young black man …
 For Robert Charles’s arrival in New Orleans, see Hair,
Carnival of Fury
, p. 67.

Chapter 7: Desperado

By far the most thorough and authoritative treatment of the Robert Charles Riot is William Ivy Hair’s excellent
Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Riot of 1900
. In the following account, I have relied most heavily on that book, on Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s “Mob Rule in New Orleans,” and on contemporary newspaper accounts.

  
1
a dark, tropical Monday evening …
 Details in this first paragraph come from Hair,
Carnival
, 114–19, and the NODP of July 26, 1900.

  
2
“air of elegance” …
 This and other characteristics as per the NODP of July 25, 1900. For other details, see Hair,
Carnival
, 107.

  
3
Born just after the Civil War …
 For specifics about Charles’s early life, see Hair,
Carnival
, 3–7, 27–34.

  
4
during a dispute about a stolen pistol …
 For the shooting incident in Vicksburg, see Hair,
Carnival
, 36, 55–56.

  
5
By late 1894, he had found his way …
 Charles’s move to New Orleans and his activities with the International Migration Society are from Hair,
Carnival
, 67–68, 96–97.

  
6
the timing of Charles’s application …
 Charles’s resentment of disenfranchisement as per Hair,
Carnival
, 107.

  
7
the night of July 23, 1900 …
 The details of the incident on Dryades Street as per Hair,
Carnival
, 19–20, and reports in the NODPs and NODIs of July 25 and 26, 1900.

  
8
An hour later, Lenard Pierce was sitting …
 Details mainly from Hair,
Carnival
, 112ff., and the newspaper reports cited above. “I know where I can get that nigger now” is quoted by Hair,
Carnival
, 123.

  
9
The captain’s instinct was right
I have relied on Hair’s careful account of the incident at Charles’s Fourth Street home, supplemented by the same newspaper reports cited above. All quotes from Hair,
Carnival
, 125–30.

10
“Do you need any assistance …”
is from Hair,
Carnival
, 128.

11
the three officers ran away …
 Details of Perrier’s actions come mainly from the report in the NODP of July 25, 1900.

12
At five A.M.…
The actions of Aucoin and Trenchard as per Hair,
Carnival
, 126ff.

13
“In a moment, a hundred or more …”
and the outhouse incident are from the NODI of July 24, 1900.

14
Charles’s cache of migration literature …
 See Hair,
Carnival
, 132.

15
“evil toward the white man …”
The quotes in this paragraph are from the NODP of July 25, 1900.

16
largest manhunt in the history of New Orleans …
 as per Hair,
Carnival
, 135.

17
“one of the most formidable monsters …”
is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.

18
even one white visitor from New York …
 See Hair,
Carnival
, 143. Page 145 of the same source cites the rumors of Charles’s capture in Kenner.

19
“as a class” …
 The editorial in the NOTD of July 25, 1900, blames blacks as such.

20
“We know not, it seems …”
Quotes from Hearsey’s editorial are from the NODS of July 25, 1900.

21
“Unable to vent its vindictiveness …”
is from Ida B. Wells-Barnett (as quoted in Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 45).

22
“Negroes fled terror-stricken …”
is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.

23
some three thousand men and boys …
 The scene at the parish prison as per Hair,
Carnival
, 152f.

24
“The angry men swayed …”
is from the NOTD of July 26, 1900.

25
“The red-light district was all excitement …”
and “Out went the lights …” are from the NODP of July 26, 1900.

26
“Aah, we never had nothing like that …”
There is some confusion in various sources as to whether Peyton, Bolden, Nelson, and the others were playing at Big 25 or Club 28, both clubs on Franklin Street, though the version quoted here says the former. The description of the scene by Nelson is quoted from Lomax,
Mister Jelly Roll
, 111–12.

27
“The supreme sentiment was to kill Negroes …”
is from the NODP of July 26, 1900.

28
By morning, three blacks had been brutally killed …
 For the aftermath of the night of rioting, see Hair,
Carnival
, 152–55.

29
“The better element of the white citizens …”
is from Wells-Barnett, “Mob Rule in New Orleans,” 33.

30
“bloodthirsty champion …”
as quoted in Hair,
Carnival
, 2.

31
In a small room in the rear annex …
 The scene in the Saratoga Street annex comes mainly from Hair,
Carnival
, 156–74, and from contemporary newspaper accounts.

32
instrumental in turning away the mob …
 Porteus’s actions at the Orleans Parish Prison as reported in the NODI of July 26, 1900. See also Hair,
Carnival
, 152, 159–60.

33
“his brother Robert Charles …”
and “Robert Charles was no relation” are as quoted in Hair,
Carnival
, 161–62.

34
One off-duty police officer …
 Officer Fenny’s description of the scene as per “Testimony of Officer Fenny” in the NODP of May 15, 1901.

35
“For God’s sake, don’t shoot!”
as quoted in Hair,
Carnival
, 166.

36
a Turkish bath at the St. Charles Hotel …
 See Hair,
Carnival
, 167.

37
dozens of answering reports …
 According to the NODP of July 28, 1900, some five thousand shots hit the annex building in which Charles was holed up.

38
the standoff was not to go on indefinitely …
 Charles’s last stand was covered extensively in all of the local papers; see also Hair,
Carnival
, 172–74. [NB: The NODP of July 28, 1900, claims that Noiret was alone in the room at the time Charles entered.]

39
“Now who says …”
Trenchard’s moment of absurdity was reported in the NODI and NODP of July 28, 1900.

40
one more night of terror …
 For the second wave of rioting after the death of Charles, see mainly Hair,
Carnival
, 176–78.

41
“Robert Charles was the boldest …”
is from the NODP of July 28, 1900.

42
“Never before was such a display …”
is from the NODS of the same date.

43
the inevitable conviction of absolutely no one …
 The judicial aftermath of the case as per Hair,
Carnival
, 198–89.

44
“The nigger’s all right …”
The quote from
Outlook
is from the May 17, 1902, edition (No. LXXI).

45
more outright suppression …
 For the uptick in harassment at black music venues after the riot, see Lester, “New Negro of Jazz,” 65.

46
“Nobody knew him …”
The scene with Louis Nelson’s father, and the quotes, are from Lomax,
Mister Jelly Roll
, 112–13.

47
“This song was squashed …”
For the Robert Charles rumors, and for Jelly Roll Morton’s quote, see Lomax,
Mister Jelly Roll
, 69–70.